Billy Gilmour masterclass prompts startling Brighton boss confession as he admits ‘I’ve made some mistakes with him’

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi admits he should have taken a gamble on Billy Gilmour sooner after the Scotland star’s masterclass in the 6-0 rout over Wolves.

Gilmour was handed just his third Premier League start for the Seagulls since making his £9million move from Chelsea in September. The 21-year-old was among a raft of changes made by De Zerbi as the Italian decided to give a host of fringe players a rare runout.

And it proved to be a stroke of genius as Brighton’s second-string wiped the floor with Wolves by recording their biggest top-flight victory, whilst also matching their best Premier League points tally. Danny Welbeck, Deniz Undav and Pascal Gross all notched doubles in the 6-0 thrashing at the Amex but it was Gilmour’s eye-catching display that set tongues wagging – and left manager De Zerbi slightly red-faced.

De Zerbi said: “Billy was the best player on the pitch.

“I must admit possibly in the past I have made some mistakes with him and also with Undav.

“I didn’t give them many possibilities to play, but it is difficult deciding to play without Mac Allister, Mitoma, Solly March or Moises.”

Former Rangers youngster Gilmour – who came in for £70million-rated Moises Caicedo – pulled the strings in midfield as Brighton stormed to a 4-0 lead by half-time. The Ardrossan-born starlet admitted he had been studying Caicedo and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister’s performances during his time on the bench – and was thrilled that it paid off.

Gilmour, who played the entire 90 minutes, added: “I took my opportunity. It’s hard to fill Alexis and Moises’ job, but I just had to take my chance.